Bad Things
by Intergalactic Koala
Summary: Vague 50's Oz au. Galinda is scared of people finding out she's gay. Elphaba is scared of being burned alive by her peers. They fall in love, and its awful.
1. The Witch

**a/n: Just a warning that this fic has a pretty horrific setting, so there's a lot of racism/homophobia/transphobia. Like, all the time. In every chapter. Hope you enjoy haha! ha.. h**

**Chapter 1; The Witch**

I was curling my hair for the second day of my eleventh year of highschool. I had been curling it for a little more than an hour now. I pinned it into place when I was done. Fringe swept to the right, hair pinned tight on the left behind my ear. I had a small scar on my right temple that I would rather cover. When people saw it, they would always ask how I got it. They couldn't see anything but that scar. I hated that.

The fashion, these days, was to have your hair straight until about your ears, then have it in thick ringlets the rest of the way down. A fringe that curled gently to one side was recommended; middle-parted hair was deemed boring, and very unfashionable. I knew this because the day before, the first day of my eleventh year, Pfannee and Shenshen had gotten in a big discussion over it when Mallonet Granhaitti had come to school with a middle-part. She always was a little frumpy, despite her wealth.

I reddened my lips and lined my eyes. I didn't need blush. Then I left for school.

North Dixxi College was about a half an hours walk from my place. I usually rode my bike because I'm not too good at waking up and leaving early enough to walk. I woke up early that day because of my nerves, so I took my time. It had been raining that morning. The paths weren't too messed up, and the air was crisp.

Shenshen and Pfannee met me at the gates to the school grounds. Compliments flew around. Pfannee gave her daily update on the talk of the class. She had given one every day before school for four years. She was the lifeblood of the rumour mill. She was the rumour mill. I found it to be pretty tiresome, but I liked being up to date. She was just so eager and annoying about it.

"There's a new student, but they're a demon!" Shenshen and I exchanged looks and laughed half to death. Pfannee was very upset. "Oh, don't hurt yourselves," She muttered.

"A demon? Really? Galinda, can you believe it?"

"An Animal wouldn't be admitted at our school."

"It's not an Animal of any kind!" Pfannee snapped. "Apparently their skin is green as anything, but they're human. Well, barely. People can't tell what it is! Not in species nor, you know, in the private way."

"What crap," Shenshen said. I agreed. Pfannee got all offended and needed consoling. That annoyed me about her, too. Forcing me to fake concern for her fake hurt so she was fake happy again. Shenshen wasn't so irritating, though she had her own little things. I didn't like the way she looked at people. She looked like she was always looking down her nose, even at her height. And I didn't like the way she talked about boys more than school or friends or the world all put together. All she cared about was boys.

We were walking to the locker bays when we saw a little pack of students in front of the faculty building. We lagged and came to a stop, curious. They were all sitting on the wet cement, back to back, their arms linked. A few of the year twelves were watching and muttering about them. "What on Oz are they doing?" I said.

Pfannee gave a kind of huff and said, "They're protesting Animals or magic or something. Protesting for it, I mean."

"Protesting what, exactly?" Shenshen asked as if it were a chore.

"I don't know. Ask them."

We didn't. We went over toward the year twelves and watched a little longer. A teacher came out of the building and told them to scram. When they stayed stony quiet, the teacher threatened to call the police. They stood there for a quarter of an hour before they went inside to make good on their threat. A boy from our year came up with his pack.

"What are you lot doing?" They didn't even look at him. He was Avaric. He was rich and strapping. Sheshen and Pfannee were sweet on him. I didn't much care for him, because he was one of those cocky boys. The kind of boy you couldn't feel too comfortable around as a girl.

He antagonised them a little more, then got bored, and began to throw rocks at them. His pack joined in. Most of them didn't connect.

"Knock it off," a female protester called sharply. That got Avaric going. He pelted a stone and hit one of the boys right in the face, hard.

The year twelves stepped in and got Avaric to cool down. He smoothed his hair back with his hand, his sleeves rolled up to his shoulder, and Shenshen and Pfannee swooned. I hated when they got all moony eyed. "Come on," I said, pulling at their arms linked through mine.

"Wait. Those the guard?"

The police really had been called. Ten or so moved in through the gates, lining up around the little barricade of students. A big guy in the middle of the line up spoke. "Your fun is over, lads. Time to get up."

"We aren't moving," One shot back. The police all chuckled between each other.

"You got one warning."

"We aren't moving till we're heard. Fairness for Animals! Freedom of Spellcraft!" They began to chant. They were trying to be inspiring, but it didn't work. I felt embarrassed on their behalf, watching their little commotion. As little as it was, the police didn't like it.

"Move, or you'll be taken to the station."

"We aren't doing anything. We're just sitting here."

"You're disturbing the peace."

"But-"

The police didn't let them finish and closed in, manhandling them to their feet. Most of them caved fast and let the police cuff them. A few of the angrier boys struggled away. One got forced to the ground by two officers. The other got hit full across the face with a baton, blood spitting from his mouth and down his white school shirt. Everyone just watched, amazed, as they were all dragged off.

A teacher came out and told us to get to class and we hurried off. We got barely a few moments of conversation before the next scuffle came up. Right where my locker was, there was a small crowd of students and some kind of fight happening. "That's Avaric again," Shenshen said.

"Stupid boy, always in the thick of the trouble," I muttered. Pfannee slapped my arm. "Well, it's true."

"But he is charming about it."

"Barely."

Shenshen checked her wristwatch. "We have a bit of time before class, but we'd better move if we want the good seats for Literature." Shenshen took Pfannee's arm and gave me a little wave. "See you second period. And tell Avaric I want to eat lunch with him, would you?"

"Tell him I would too!"

They went off and left me to the crowd of sweaty boys. I approached, and the boys were merciful, moving when they noticed me and who I was. I was a little well known in school now, being rich and attractive, and in the company of Shenshen, who was even richer. Not so attractive, but I would never say, of course.

When I got through the boys what I saw was Avaric and the demon student facing off. They were not what I expected: for one, they were clearly a girl, on account of their hair and the boring dress they were in. I suppose I could see the confusion, though. They were tall as the boys, and as flat in the front. They were against the locker scowling like a beast. Avaric was running his mouth.

"You a Lizard or something?"

"Do you see any scales, idiot?"

"Don't get fresh with me. You're outnumbered."

That shut her up pretty fast. The boys snickered. "I didn't realise this was a fight," She said. Her voice was a clear kind of voice, the kind of voice that pierced through things and forced you to listen. Just like her skin. You always had to look out of a morbid kind of curiosity, like looking at the corpse in a funeral.

"More like animal control," Avaric said.

"If you're going to do something, do it quick. I've got classes to attend." The demon girl stepped forward boldly. "What is it? Burning? Beating?"

They all stepped back. Even the big boys stepped back when she came forward. I couldn't tell if it was more disgust or fear. I think it was fear, because she was just the kind of freak the magic prohibition campaign always warned you about. She looked like a witch.

For me it was disgust. I could barely look at her without feeling sick to my stomach. I wanted this all out of the way, and I wanted her out of my vision, so I turned on Avaric. "Can you wrap this up? Class starts soon, and you guys are crowding my locker."

"Miss Arduenna." He got back a little of his bravado with me there to impress. "Sorry for inconveniencing you. Alright boys. Let's leave this bony fucking freak for later." He grinned all toothily at the demon girl. "I'll be seeing you around, Elphaba."

They took off. I went to my locker and got my books as fast as I could. Her locker was only about four down from mine. She looked at me, and her eyes were black and stark. She had a middle part and a single thick braid. I just looked away and went to class. I felt like I was going to puke looking at it.

My first class was history. Elphaba the demon girl was with me. She was active too, or tried to be, except the teacher never picked her. She gave up half an hour into class, her face murky and dark with embarrassment. I took notes, but I didn't give a lick about history. Every history teacher I ever had was an old man. I didn't feel right about old men. They were kind of pathetic, in some ways, but still insisted on acting all important. History mustn't have been very good if its biggest fans were old men and the freaky demon girl.

Second period was mathematics with Shenshen and Pfannee. It was kind of our best class, because the teacher this year was Ms. Plads, and she was too nervous to tell anyone to do anything. I still took notes though.

We went to the back of the bike shed during recess.

"I have a class with the demon," I said, kicking off the conversation with a bang. Shenshen couldn't believe her ears.

"You're kidding. It's true?"

"You haven't seen her? Her name is Elphaba Thropp."

"What's it like?" Pfannee said excitedly, leaning into their triangle.

"Well, she's green. She's not an Animal or anything. She's a little revolting, you know? It just looks so strange. Anyway, she's pretty aggressive too. She scared Avaric and his boys."

"She must be pretty damn revolting to scare Avaric," Shenshen said.

"They didn't want to get cursed. She looks like a witch. You'll get it when you see her."

"What, those characters on the posters? That is scary," Pfannee said. She was lapping it up. "Tell me more."

"Are you in love?"

"I'll be in love with you if you tell me more. A kiss for a tidbit."

My pulse jumped, even if it was Pfannee. "You're vile," Shenshen laughed. Pfannee smiled and batted her eyelashes coquettishly.

A lot of things about these girls annoyed me, but I liked them when we were all together and joking like this. Even when Pfannee tried too hard, or when Shenshen acted all high-and-mighty, I liked them.

"For a kiss," I started. "She's taller than Avaric, and flat as a board, but she insists on wearing a dress. She looks like some sad boy thats lost a bet." Pfannee was hunched in laughter. It made me feel victorious somehow, so I went on. "Her hair is black and looks dry as horse hair, so she keeps it in a braid with a middle-part. And when she blushes, her skin goes all muddy."

"I have to see this for myself," Shenshen said. She didn't like seeming too interested in things. It was kind of cute, but also kind of annoying.

"You said she was aggressive? Like, rabid? Wonder why the school let her in."

"No idea." Something about that bugged me. Rabid. She wasn't rabid. She seemed pretty cool about it, really.

"Sometimes schools have pity admissions, you know? Because they're a Winkie or a bit off their head, they'll get all sympathetic. Makes the school look better. Did she seem off her head?"

"I don't know."

"Who knows whats off with her if she's bloody green," Shenshen muttered. "Could go psycho and hex the whole school."

I was getting angry now, because they were just assuming things when they hadn't met or even seen her like I had. "She seemed a little more together than that."

"How together can she be?"

"I don't know."

Shenshen checked her watch. "Class starts in a few minutes. Up and at em'. Let's get our books now. Economics is next." Economics was taught by a young, fit Emerald man named Mister Reddik that Shenshen liked to drool over in class. Too bad he was married. "I'll seduce him all the same, just once," Shenshen had joked at one of their sleepovers. I knew she was half serious. She was the kind of girl to do that.

We stopped by the girl's bathrooms on the way back to check ourselves in the mirrors. Pfannee rushed into a cubicle. When she came out, she reapplied her makeup. She was always reapplying her makeup because she never went with the right brands. There was this trick back in the northern hills amongst the girls where you bit your lips raw every morning and every night, and eventually they just stayed red all on their own. I tried it for a month or so, but that was for girls that couldn't afford lipstick. Maybe I should've told Pfannee about that.

Shenshen gave me a look. "Your fringe is out of place. Come here." She liked to fuss over me and Pfannee. She was just that kind of girl I guess, a little motherly. It didn't suit the rest of her personality at all. Or maybe it suited it perfectly. Acted as a kind of balance for all of her pretentions.

I saw Shenshen eying the scar. She knew how I got it, of course. She always made this strange, kind of sympathetic, kind of envious look. I think her and Pfannee thought it made me more matured somehow. It didn't really feel that way.

I got it when I was thirteen. See, when I was thirteen and before then, we lived in Frottica, which is north of Dixxi House where we live now. We moved because Frottica and the Pertha Hills were so close to Ugabu, and when things started to get bad there it all spilled out to where we lived. I got the scar from a bullet.

It wasn't aimed at me though, and Frottica wasn't some kind of warzone. It was aimed at someone past me. It was a shot from behind that grazed me. A ruddy skinned guy was causing some commotion, and next thing he was shot. After that, mama and pop moved fast. They said it was for my safety, but they were really just scared. Who would almost be shot next, when there were more and more ruddy men causing commotions every day?

There weren't too many refugees in Dixxi House. Most of them went to Shiz. Dixxi House was small in comparison. And anyway, we never saw them, because all of them lived in South Dixxi and couldn't afford a school like North Dixxi College. South Dixxi was called The Pen to the rest of Dixxi House, because all it's where all the Animals and urchins lived. South Dixxi was the badlands.**  
><strong>


	2. The Pen

**Chapter two; The Pen**

The house my father had purchased for me was big, and grey, and on the edge of collapse. I didn't dare tread upon the stooping staircase and brave the second story in fear for my own life, which was so important to me. Existence, I had always thought, was a wonderful thing.

The first floor had four accessible rooms; a wide and open front hall; the kitchen; the dining room; a small room probably intended for storage, where I slept. The rest were either mysteriously locked or had the floor from above half collapsed in them. Around the perimeter of the house was a porch. The porch had come with a single chair and the chair, I was surprised to find, was actually a pretty sturdy little thing.

Early in the morning before I had to set off to school, I sat and took my breakfast on that little scrap of a chair, watching over my neglected garden. Gardening was a particularly time consuming task I had no interest in, so I suppose it would stay this way indefinitely. The only features of the garden was the stark red-brick path leading from gate to porch, and a magnificent old oak tree that grew on the right side.

This morning, I spied visitors crouched behind the broad trunk of my tree. It was a litter of Gillikin pups, all their heads blonde and curly, all of their clothes cleaned and ironed by their mothers. They sat behind my tree and peeked out at me, darting back behind when they knew I had seen them. I wondered what they intended to do. Then they enlightened me; one courageous boy jumped out and tossed an egg at me. It didn't even reach the steps of the porch. He went red in the face and hid again. They threw a few more. One even reached the second step. I got fed up then, and had eaten my sandwich anyway. I stood and brushed the crumbs from my dress, and then bolted down toward the tree. They screamed and went tearing out onto the street toward the bridge to North Dixxi.

An Alligator across the road was getting his mail and staring at me, his eyes wide. I leaned on the post of my front gate and waved casually. He waved back. I hadn't expected that.

I got my satchel and went to school. I walked because I didn't have an alternative at this point. I would like to invest in a bicycle of some sort down the road, but I hadn't the funds. Father paid my tuition and bills and gave a little extra for supplies, but otherwise I was on my own.

Walking into North Dixxi College was akin to voluntarily walking into prison, as if proffering your wrists and saying, "Please, dehumanise me more". The girls ignored me entirely, and the boys glared with either hate or fear or fetishistic lust. I had only been attending a week and I couldn't count the amount of times I had been cursed, or humiliated, or grabbed or pinched or touched.

During lunch, for the first time that whole week, I saw someone other than me getting bullied. They were a Munchkinlander like myself; small in stature, curly chestnut hair. They were getting their books from their locker when some Gillikin year ten girls went by. "Hey, Biqqi," They said, dragging out the name. They knocked her books out of her hands and all broke into laughter. The Munchkinlander stared after them, gathering her supplies.

Biqqi. That struck a memory. I knew her. I grew up with a girl called Biqqi when we were still in Munchkinland. I debated with myself briefly, then went over. It was worth the risk. I started helping picking up their books.

She recognised me. I could see it. "Biqqi, right?" I asked. "We played together as kids."

She didn't look at me, just like the other girls, but she did respond. "It's Boq," She said weakly.

"Oh. Okay, Boq." She gave me a sharp look. "I'm sorry, did I pronounce it wrong or-"

"No. No, you just…" She went quiet. "Boq is a boys name, you know."

"Not much of my business what you want to be called," I said. She became animated.

"So you wouldn't mind, then, calling me Boq?" She looked like she was going to continue, but then rethought whatever she was going to say.

"What?"

"Nothing," She said shortly. "And I do remember you, yes. How could I forget." Boq gave me a long look. "Why are you in Dixxi House?"

"I'm being prepared for university."

"Me too." There was a certain cultural phenomenon with Munchkin parents and planning their children's futures. It was almost like a game of shotput; how far could you throw your child out into the world? How expensive of a university could you get them into? I suppose all parents were like that, but Munchkinlanders took it to the extreme. Or they were the opposite, and kept their kids close to help in the family business. They didn't care much who you shacked up with or didn't, though, so long as you were doing alright for yourself. Gillikins were obsessed with who was fucking who.

Boq became all nervous and fidgety. "Look, I know I've been terribly forward, but I was thinking on it. I wondered if you might like to be friends?"

That made nervous too, but I wanted to play it off. "I don't think you want to do that. Being friends with me might not be safe."

"I'm not all that safe as it is," Boq said. I couldn't think why.

"Do what you wish," I said. She smiled.

After that, we met up for lunch every day. She met me at my locker. That Wednesday, I was shovelling my books back into place when she came up. "Hey."

I jerked my head in greeting. "You look jittery."

"I'm alright."

"Did something happen?" I asked in a low voice. She shook her head quickly. "Okay."

"I'm really alright, it's just. Look, there was something I wanted to say to you when we first spoke last week, but I didn't, and I've been thinking, and I've realised I ought to say it, since you've been a proper friend to me so far. It's just a pretty scary thing to say."

"I'm all ears."

"Alright, but it's pretty funny."

"Boq, I'm green." I gestured to myself. "Say it already."

"Alright. Okay. The thing is, I think I might be a boy."

I was briefly confused. "Is this a concern you want advice on, or like, the big secret revealed?"

"The big secret. I want to be a boy."

That hadn't surprised me much, with the name thing, and the way Boq looked at boys. At first I had thought Boq was mooning over them, but that wasn't quite it. It was sadder than that. Anyway, I didn't mind.

"Okay. You're pretty brave, you know." Boq blushed.

"So are you, Elphaba."

We were something like pals after that. Boq was decent, so far as company goes. Not that I had much experience. Boq was a decent boy, too. Boys tended to be overcompensating somewhat with all their masculine ways, and I had never liked masculinity that much. He didn't have that. Boq worked hard and kept his head down. He had that kind of humility. Boq was a good guy, I think.

A few days later we were at my locker again. He came up and I greeted him, but he wasn't listening, distracted by something down the hall. I followed his eye and saw this girl that had the fourth locker down from mine. Glindi or something stupid like that. "Are you sweet on her?"

"What? No. Well, maybe a little." He was red as a bloody tomato. I couldn't help cackling at him. He punched my shoulder.

"I can tell you, you don't want to be sweet on a girl like her."

"Why not? She looks so lovely."

"She'll break your heart and fix her hair in the mirror while doing it." I got my lunch and shut my locker, leaning on it sideways to look at her with him. "That's why she's so beautiful. She absorbs the adoration of weak young men and stays seventeen forever."

"You're mad."

"A joke," I said. He still looked a little miffed. "If you like her so much, say hello."

"No. No, I couldn't, she's one of those girls."

"Those girls?"

"You know. The fancy ones that everyone knows."

I took a bite of my sandwich and got a look from Boq. He was a very sensible, serious kind of person. I rolled my eyes and wrapped it again. "Well, do something. Mooning boys are so awful to watch."

Whenever I called Boq a boy, his whole face lit up for a moment, so I made sure to say it when I saw the opportunity. He tended to be too serious and trap himself in a state of teenage gloom. It was nice to see him heartened every now and then.

Boq took a step or two forward and said, "H… Hello, miss Galinda!" She was already turning to leave, and looked back like he had lost his head. She glanced at me too, but barely for a second before she quickly looked away.

Her sensibilities forced her to reply, though she didn't bother trying to be nice about it. "You're Biqqi or something, right?"

"Um, Boq, actually."

Galinda smiled in a mean, amused way. "That can't be right."

I couldn't help butting in. "Their name is Boq. Have some respect."

She did this thing that people tended to do - especially people who knew it was impolite to stare, you know, those rich, born for marriage kind of people - what they did is they acknowledge what I said, by a little turn of the head or an expression, but never actually looked at me, as if that were any less insulting. "Boq, I believe, is a man's name. She is clearly a girl."

"What does it matter if that's what they want to be called?"

"There is an order to things that is there for a reason."

"What significant difference does it make, though? What important part of society will break down when you call them Boq instead of Biqqi?"

She opened her mouth to reply, but couldn't, and finally looked at me in a curious sort of way. She huffed and became red faced. She looked back at Boq. "I need to meet my friends for lunch. Good day to you, Biqqi. Excuse me."

"Really? You still said it?" I called as she went off. Boq looked upset. "Don't let her get to you."

"It's not her that got to me," Boq said. "How could you do that? That was so embarrassing."

"What, stand up for you?"

Boq cooled off a little at that. "I guess you meant well. But ask my permission next time, at least."

I scoffed. "Well, okay. Is this in general, or just with girls that make you feel all funny inside?"

"Shut up," Boq said, but he was smirking. "Just with her. With other people… at least give me a signal or something. A look."

"Fair enough."

We walked together after school too. It was sort of out of friendship, but mostly for solidarity. We parted at the road that lead to the bridge to South Dixxi. Boq lingered today. "Listen, I was thinking. What if this saturday we had kind of a day out? Got lunch or something."

"I don't have the money for days out."

"Well, if its just lunch, I can cover you."

"What a gentleman." He grinned. "Okay, but I'm not going to any bloody restaurant here. We would have the whole place in an uproar. There's a diner I like the look of in South Dixxi. Up for it?"

He looked a little hesitant, as any North Dixxi resident would, but agreed.

The week was blessedly uneventful, and having Boq to nod and wave at was nice. I wasn't accustomed to having friends, and was unsure of how to go about being a friend, but Boq seemed to make up for that. He always made sure to acknowledge me when we crossed paths. That felt better than I expected it would; being really seen.

Saturday came around. Going out with friends felt somewhat bizarre. I wasn't sure what the protocol was. Boq met me at my house. He came on a bike and looked cleaner than he usually did, with his hair tied tight into a little ponytail and a tweed jacket that made his shoulders broader. He stopped outside of my gate. I came down the path. "You're looking fresh."

"Thanks," He said with an earnest smile. He looked at the house beyond. "Your family's place is… pretty wrecked. I kind of expected somewhere bigger."

"My family don't live here. Just me." He looked impressed. "Why did you expect a bigger place? It's pretty big."

"Well, you're a Thropp," Boq said. "Your family is loaded, right?"

"My relatives are." Boq looked very curious. Perhaps one day I would alleviate his curiosity, but not today. "This is all my father could afford. Half of it is collapsed inside."

"Wow." He pointed at my mail box. "By the way, you've got something..."

I tore off a poster stuck to my gate and looked at it. A bit of anti-magic propaganda with the words, 'BEWAIR THE WITCH'. I crushed it up. "Bloody kids didn't even spell it right."

"You're a witch, huh?"

"Oh yes. And I eat children."

"Spooky." He looked me over. "Well, you do sort of fit the part, to be honest."

"Yeah?" I hunched over and made a face. He burst out laughing. "Come on, master Boq. I'm ravenous for _kid_-ney pie."

"With a nice glass of _child_ water?"

"What?"

"Child. Chilled."

"That was weak." He scoffed. "Really, I'm dying here. Lets go."

The diner was a place called Bill's. It was owned by a Bear. It always had Animals cooling down inside or smoking outside, and I had always wanted to go in. It was a clean looking place, but Boq eyed it. "We're going here?"

"Yep."

"Isn't this for Animals?"

"Well, it serves anyone. I've seen humans in there."

"But it's primarily for Animals."

"So what?"

He rested his bike outside. "Alright, fine. Sorry."

We took a booth with a window that looked out into the street. Boq took up a menu while I looked the interior over. It was decorated with paintings done on boards of timber, mostly of landscapes and Fauna. There was a jukebox playing some kind of music with an interesting singer. Their voice seemed to shake, kind of warble. I wondered if they were an Animal. Maybe a Chicken or something. "What's up with this menu?" Boq said.

"What?"

"I don't know. Everything is salads."

I took it from him. "It says burger right there."

"It says its a lentil burger."

I realised why, and pointed to the top of the menu. "It's a herbivore menu." I took up the red menus mixed in with them. "See, this is a carnivore menu."

Boq took it, staring blankly. "What's a carnivore?"

"It's when you only eat meat."

"Do they have a menu for both?"

"Just ask for something from both."

"Man, why did we have to go here?" Boq whined. "Can we ask if they have a menu for both? What's that called? Bothvore?"

"Omnivore. Stop being a pain."

"Steak. Strips. Mixed meat skewer. Premium cuts. Haunch. This is literally just meat."

"What do you expect? Its for carnivores." Elphaba read through both. "Might get a steak with a salad."

Boq was looking at the herbivore menu again. "What's quinoa? Think it's kind of like meat? I'll get a quinoa salad. It's like, five bucks, so it should be a pretty decent serving size, right?"

"Sure."

Now I was done looking at the menus, I could see Boq and how he kept glancing out the window. I looked out there, but nothing was happening. He kept looking and fidgeting with his hands. "Boq, you need to relax. What are you looking at anyway?"

"Just don't want anything to happen to my bike."

"There are at least four other bikes out there. Your bike is fine."

A waitress came around and took our orders. She was an Ewe, so we scribbled down our orders on her little notepad for her, on account of the hooves. Boq got all agitated about it being bad service. I felt like slapping him.

The food came about ten minutes later. I stared, stunned, at the slab of raw beef on my plate. Boq spoke first. "Wait, that's not cooked."

"Yes," The Ewe said gently. She looked between them. "You didn't specify you wanted it cooked. It says so on the menu."

There was indeed an annotation on the menu. The waitress became distressed as Boq glared at her. "I'm sorry, but that's just how the restaurant is set up, I didn't want to assume-"

"It's okay," I said. I sawed off a bit of the raw meat and tried it. Boq stared at me wide eyed. "It's pretty good."

"Elphaba, are you sure -"

"I'll have it as is," I declared. The waitress went off. Boq shook his head and began on his salad.

I wanted to hang around a little after we were done eating, but Boq was getting anxious. He had been exceptionally annoying the entire day, and it was really grating me now, so we just paid and left. I gave him a sidelong look. "Where next?"

"I think I'll call it a day," Boq said, looking down the street with a frown. "I'll walk you home, unless you have business here?"

"Alright. Home it is."

Boq stayed moodily quiet most of the walk. When my wreck of a house came into view, he stopped in the street. I cast him a wary look. "Why'd you eat the raw meat, Elphaba?"

"Because I wanted to."

"Look, your skin - it's weird, but as a person, you really aren't _that_ odd. But eating a raw slab of steak… that's pretty odd. And I know you expected it to be cooked too."

"We were at an Animal diner. That's how they eat their meat. It was out of respect, you know? I wanted to see how it was. And it wasn't that bad. Nice texture. Kind of chewy. Anyway, why are you so hung up about this?"

"I don't know," Boq muttered, continuing down the street. "Just never seen a green person eat a bleeding raw steak before."

"You can strike it off your list."

Boq smiled at me half heartedly. We stopped at my house. Boq stooped and picked up the crumpled poster, caught on the links of my front yard fence. He handed it to me. "You really looked like a witch. You had blood dribbling down your chin and everything."

I watched Boq's back as he rode off back over the bridge to North Dixxi. I looked at the poster, with the letters scrawled in waxy red. I smudged it with my thumb. It was lipstick, I think. I screwed it up in my hands and cast it away.


	3. Milla

**Chapter 3; Milla**

There was a pool party sort of thing going on at Shenshen's, since the deck in her backyard was finally done. It had a couple of those sunbathing chairs and those big umbrellas and everything. The deck looked over the pool. The pool was bigger than any other pool I had ever seen, and was deep to match. I wasn't too strong a swimmer, so I mostly stayed on the deck. I had bought a terrific new bathing suit the other month, a white and fuchsia pattern with little lines and dots, and today was my first time displaying it in a proper social situation. The girls had all gone gaga when they saw it.

"Oh, its marvellous! Ordered in from the Emerald City?"

"Yes. From Renley's."

"I got my favourite coat from there," Milla said. She was a new member of the group. This was kind of her trial run as a friend, though she probably didn't know it. She was a very nice girl, even if she was poorer than the rest of us. She had a kind smile, the sort of smile that crinkled up the corners of her eyes. Her hair was a warm honey colour that fell in waves, because of her part Munchkin blood. Her eyes were dark, like that demon girl's, Elphaba. Was Elphaba part Munchkin? Not if she was that tall.

"What's this fabric? It feels odd."

Shenshen was touching me all over. Girls didn't get bothered by that at all, except for me, apparently. Although it wasn't the kind of bothered you complain about. "I'm not sure. Some new stuff they say is better for the water."

"Linen is so heavy when wet," Pfannee said, already half in the water. She had a one piece on, striped red and white. Shenshen said she was going to change. We all knew she must have bought a new bathing suit too. I would have worried about upstaging her, but Shenshen was as rich as the damn Wizard. I don't think I could if I tried.

Shenshen proved me right. Hers was blue and came in two parts; the top, a kind of brassiere-like design, but prettier, and the bottoms, a pair of very short shorts with a little red belt. You could see her waist and the beginning of her hips. It was pretty scandalous, so of course Pfannee loved it, though she tried to pretend like she didn't.

"Very nice, Shen. What do they call this design?"

"A two piece."

"A two piece," Pfannee repeated. She stared enviously, and Shenshen basked in it. I was staring too, but I wasn't really looking at the bathing suit.

When everyone had gawped for long enough, we got stuck into having fun. Milla was a really good swimmer. I hadn't expected that because she was a Munchkin and all, but she was fast as a fish. Pfannee splashed around and tossed her wet hair around a lot, checking to see who was watching. Me and Shen were reclined on the sun seats. I had a pair of sunglasses on and liked to think that annoyed Pfannee. Milla got out of the pool and flicked her hair, shorter than most of ours. It barely went past her ears. She hung her towel around her shoulders - her shoulders were a little broader than her hips, but she looked good - and came over to us, taking the seat next to me. Pfannee stopped splashing about and reclined beside Shenshen.

"So Milla, I was wondering. You're like, one of the only Munchkins in the school, yeah?" Pfannee asked. Me and Shenshen looked at Milla. She hummed in thought.

"I prefer the term Munchkinlander myself," She said kindly, the three of us exchanging looks. "But yes, I am, along with Gabby and Biqqi and that funny Thropp girl." So she was a Munchkin! I was shocked. I wanted to ask how Milla even knew.

"Why aren't there any Munchkin boys?" Shenshen wondered aloud before I could get a word in. Always thinking about boys.

"Boys these days usually like to work on the farms. It's hard work, but it pays well. An education is for ladies, so they can manage business and do all that more delicate work."

"Did you say Thropp girl?" I jumped in, Shenshen giving me a look. "You mean that weird green girl, right? I was wondering how in Oz you knew she was a Munchkin, with how tall she is and all."

Milla stared at us. "You don't know of the Thropp family?" We all looked at each other. Milla laughed. "The Thropps are the most important people in Munchkinland. Her grandfather is The Eminent Thropp." She said the title with great importance, so we all 'ooh'-ed to seem as if we were in the loop. "Oh, but it matters little now. Her family were disowned when her mother birthed a cripple and died. They moved down to the Quads. Guess they came back from the swamp."

"Maybe that's why she's green," Pfannee said. "Got frog people in her."

"Quadlings aren't green, they're red," Shenshen said.

"Maybe there's some funny disease in the swamp. Like moss that grows on your skin or something."

"You sure have a wild imagination," Shenshen muttered in this patronising way she had. Pfannee put her glasses on and went red with embarrassment. "Anyway, on the Munchkins in school. That one Biq wants to be a boy, right? She refuses to wear dresses and all that."

"I had a row with her and the demon girl the other day," I said. "Seems they teamed up in some weird freakshow." I sat up a little. "Now hear this - this is what she said to me. She was telling me to call Biqqi, that girl, Boq, out of respect. I said it wasn't the order of things. She asked me why it mattered."

"Why what mattered?"

"That this girl wanted to be called Boq. She said, 'What important part of society will break down if you called her Boq', or something like that."

"Well, what'd you reply?"

I pressed my hand to my chest. "I couldn't reply at all. I was all woozy, you know, from the unnaturalness of her. And she was talking right to me. I could barely keep my head." I was lying through my teeth, and I felt a little bad, but they accepted it easily. They nodded sympathetically, or at least Pfannee and Shenshen did. Milla watched on with a funny look in her eye.

"Well, it's as you said. There's an order to things. Boys are boys and girls are girls. If people can go calling themselves whatever they like, it throws it all into chaos!" Shenshen leaned forward and looked very serious. "We got a boys bathroom and a girls bathroom for a reason. We got boys and girls dressing rooms. And what are they gonna do, get sweet on a girl, when they're built a certain way themselves?" Shenshen shook her head. "It doesn't work."

I felt my heart pick up when she talked of Biqqi being sweet on a girl. I wondered if - with the way she had called out to me in the middle of the hall like that - if she was sweet on me.

"You've been awfully quiet Milla," Pfannee said. Milla looked up.

"I'm just thinking about it all."

I gave her a smile, to make up for Pfannee and Shenshen's critical natures. "What do you think?"

"I think I agree with Miss Thropp, if I am to be honest."

I felt the air become a little colder. "Why?" Shenshen asked, her voice all light in that really fake way. Every girl knew that voice meant you were being judged real hard. I watched Milla as she answered. She looked more cautious now.

"Well, I just don't think its that big of a deal what's between your legs. In Munchkinland, mostly in the far out kinds of places, there are the Ladies of the Harvest. They're built like a gentleman would be, but they live as women, and would bless people's homes to have a good harvest, or encourage balanced weather. Priestesses of sorts."

"Munchkinland sounds backwards," Pfannee murmured. Milla sat back with a grimace. A housemaid came out and announced that lunch was served.

When school came back around, Milla was still with our group. It seemed like some wacky miracle to me, with the way she'd talked like that. I hadn't ever seen any girl talk like that to us. I was a little in awe of her, and I guess I wanted to prick her brain a little. It was monday and our first class was gym, and Milla was in it. We were playing volleyball, but I touched her shoulder before it all started and said, "Hey, you mind sitting out with me? Or do you like volleyball a bunch?"

"I don't give a flick about volleyball." We both volunteered to sit out. That really bugged our teacher, but he didn't say anything. Male teachers have a hard time telling pretty girls what to do, even when they are students; its one of those things that kind of bugs you, but you end up using it anyway, because why wouldn't you? Anyway, we sat out and I got to picking her head. I was really into what she had said.

"I wanted to ask you about what you said back at Shenshen's place, about Elphaba and all that."

"Oh yeah?" She sounded a little wary. She probably thought I was going to wring her.

"Yeah. I guess I just wanted to know a little more about what you meant."

Milla brought her legs up to her chest and thought to herself. "I'm awfully flattered you found it so interesting, but I think I've changed my mind since. Maybe Shenshen was right, you know? There is a way to things. Some strange people out in the nowhere side of lower Munch doesn't change that."

That really got me worried. "Well, I liked what you said. I thought you sounded very smart, and it was pretty brave too, talking to them like that."

"A little too brave maybe."

"No, I was amazed."

"Really?" Girls had this cute way of saying things sometimes, in this way that's a little teasing, but also a little flattered. That makes me go crazy. It was cute as anything. I always try too hard when girls talk like that. I went on and on about how great she had sounded till she was red in the face. She really was a pretty attractive girl.

"Well, I'm awfully flattered." She said that about a hundred times. We were grinning like idiots.

"Yeah. And I agree with what you said, you know? I really do. But don't tell Shenshen and Pfannee. They'd have my head."

"Aren't they your friends?"

"Yeah, but, you know, they're both particular kinds of people. They don't like it too much when somebody doesn't see things their way." I shrugged my shoulders. "Friends have little rules like that, I guess."

"I guess so."

The next day, when I met Shenshen and Pfannee at the gates, they were pretty stroppy with me all of a sudden. I didn't get why, and they kept playing me around like I should just know.

"You know, friends usually back up friends. That's why they're friends. It's a betrayal otherwise."

"Right. You can't have disagreements in a group, or it'll tear everything apart."

I'm sure I looked as puzzled as I felt. "What are you two on about?" Surely Milla hadn't told them, and so soon? She seemed pretty trustworthy. "I can't read minds you know. Either tell me straight or don't tell me at all."

"We know you disagreed with us! On the matter of that boy-girl Munchkin, that is. And we don't appreciate it." Shenshen looked around and moved a little closer. "Especially considering we heard it from that Milla girl! I regret inviting her, if I am to be honest. She is beneath her class."

Man, that got me going. "Excuse me? I enjoyed having Milla in the group. She's a nice girl with a - oh, I don't know. A fresh way about her."

"Oh, you would go on like that," Pfannee said, crossing her arms.

I felt all queasy when she said that. "What is that meant to mean?"

"Well, you've always liked new, shiny things," Shenshen said. "New people, new opinions. But you must be wary, when they lead you down the wrong path."

"What? What path?"

"Oh, you know what I mean. Now, we understand its simply your way to get caught up with those things, so we aren't angry." I nearly scoffed right there in her face. "If you make it up to us, all this will be forgotten. You just need to do one thing."

I became a little worried. "What?"

"Come to the party the senior boys are holding this Sunday."

I hated parties, and they knew it. "Can't I buy you each something? New swim suits in that fabulous fabric?"

"You're coming to the party," Shenshen said with finality. I scowled.

"Or what?"

"Or we'll ditch Milla," Pfannee said quickly. I snapped my glare at her, and she recoiled a little, but kept her facade of disapproval. "It's your choice."

"My gosh." One stupid party was okay, I supposed. "Alright, fine."

I was pretty angry at them, and at Milla, for spilling what I had said. But what really got to me was that they had even asked about the party. Shenshen and Pfannee could be pretty bloody annoying, but they knew why I didn't like parties. I expected them to be more considerate, I guess, since they were my friends.

The party thing is a pretty long story, but this is what matters: parties always get too heated. People think parties are all fun, but they aren't. When people get to letting loose, they don't just loosen up all that good stuff like being happy or funny or whatever, they also let loose all of their frustration and stupidity. Every bad thing that happened last year happened at a party. I didn't want to risk another bad thing happening to me.

Later that day I had another class with Milla, and I could tell she was avoiding me. It only made me angrier, though I suspected Milla had little choice but to spill, with Shenshen and Pfannee being who they were. I knew how to handle them pretty well, but Milla was out of her depth. I pulled her up after class was out.

"Galinda-"

"Let's go on a walk," I said, my voice level. She nodded all nervously. We went to the back of the bike shed, even though we both had classes starting. She must have been pretty scared.

The second we stopped, she was off. "Galinda, I am so sorry! I never meant to tell them anything, but they kept talking and - and I got all mixed up, and they can be pretty, um, intimidating, you know? And it just came out! I'm so, so sorry!"

I looked at her for a long moment, then gave a little smile. "Alright. I kind of thought that was the case anyway. I know they can be pretty mean."

Milla sat down against the bike shed, sweeping her hands beneath her thighs to straighten her dress. I liked when girls did that, because it seemed kind of elegant, you know? Even thinking to do that seemed elegant. Anyway, I sat next to her and did the same, of course. She looked at me. "How do you deal with them when they're like that?"

I didn't have to deal with it as much, honestly, because I was above Pfannee in class. Shenshen was really the only one that could jerk me around, and I had her worked out. I thought about it though. "Either you pretend to agree with them, or you give as good as you get. You can be mean back, you know. Sometimes it's just what's necessary."

"I'm not very good at being mean."

I looked at her profile, her earnest, troubled face. "That's good."

"Is it?"

She faced me again, looked at me in this vulnerable way. I didn't know what to say. I leaned forward and kissed her.

She jerked away, and stood up quickly, moving back, moving away. I stood up fast. She was staring at me wide eyed. I didn't know what to do. I felt like someone had punched me in the stomach. "Milla-"

"I won't tell anyone," Milla said, voice trembling. "I won't tell anyone this time, but don't touch me."

I thought I might vomit . "Please don't…" God, I could barely breathe right. I was really freaking out. She had her arms crossed over her body.

"I won't. I owe you that. I won't." She walked quickly back to school.

I tried to settle down behind the bike shed. I felt like I was going to be sick. I felt like I might die, my chest was so tight. When it passed, what I'd done hit me, and I really wasn't in a good way. I cried it out and calmed down, and got my bag and went home early.

Home wasn't better. I thought I would feel less afraid, but I was a wreck. I was completely out of my mind. I went off to the forest, just down the road from our place. I got myself all secluded, and sat in the fallen leaves and the undergrowth. I sat for a long time. I didn't want to go home. I didn't want to know if they knew. If Milla had told someone, and they had told the school, and the school had called Mama and Pop, and they were waiting to lash me as a witch for indulging in unnatural passions. That was the penalty now. Mama and Pop said it wasn't like that in Frottica, but in a big place like Dixxie House they played by city rules, and those were the rules.

I went home, because what else could I do, really? My parents didn't know. They didn't have a clue. They were worried because it was already a couple of hours since school was out. I went to bed feeling like I was a day from death.


	4. Hunt

**warning** for the use of transphobic slurs/pretty intense transphobic sentiment (no violence).

**Chapter 4; Hunt**

That Friday, as I put away my books and got my lunch, Boq arrived with an unusual letter in his hands. He was positively beaming. He had this big daft grin that made me laugh.

"What's that look?"

"This is the look of someone who was invited to a party by their crush," Boq said, offering the letter. "It was in my locker this morning."

I unfolded the letter. It read:

'_Dear Boq,_

_First off, I want to apologise for that ugly business before. I was mean and rude. I have been thinking about it, and what Miss Thropp said at the time, and have decided to make amends. I would like to be friends, if you would have me after the way I talked to you. This Sunday there is a party at the edge of the Mudgrove farm, by the woods. I'm inviting you. I really hope you come, and again, I'm sorry. Miss Thropp is welcome to come along too._

_Love,_

_Galinda Arduenna'_

"Can you believe it?" Boq said excitedly as I folded up the letter.

"No. No, I can't."

"What?"

I closed my locker. "Well, its clearly a joke. They even invited me. It's fake. Best throw it away now."

He snatched it back. "I will not! As unlikely as it may be, if it is true and I simply ignored it, well… I would regret that for my whole life."

"It is overwhelmingly unlikely," I said. I was honestly a little concerned now, he looked so serious and set on it. "You don't know what might happen. What if its something cruel? Even something dangerous?"

"Galinda has no reason to pull a trick like that."

"Her friends are malicious as demons. And anyway, you're assuming she even wrote it."

Boq looked at the letter in his hands. He looked up at me. "I have to try. Look, no one has ever done anything really violent. Just shoving and stuff. If it is a trick, maybe it's just that nothing is there, or something stupid." Boq took my hand; I snatched it away instantly. "I have to try. I… I love her."

He was daft as his bloody grin. "Is there anyway I can talk you out of this?"

"No," He said, adamant.

I didn't have a good feeling about all this. In fact, I had a distinctly awful feeling about it. But I had grown a bit of care for this idiotic little boy, and couldn't let him march into harms way without at least some back up. "Do you have a car, at least?"

"My dad has a truck, but I can't drive."

"Bikes, then?"

"I have bikes. One is a little beaten up, but I could work it. Why do we need bikes?"

"To get away," I said gravely. He rolled his eyes at me.

"You are a very dramatic sort, Elphaba," He said, like I was very tiresome to be around. He sounded just like my sister, and it both irritated and warmed me to him very sharply.

"Really, Boq, this is stupid. You can't honestly think that letter is genuine at all?"

"I can hope," He said. "I must."

"And you call _me_ dramatic."

"You're allowed to be dramatic when you're in love." He was a lost cause. I didn't understand all the fuss he made over Galinda Arduenna anyway. She was certainly beautiful - she was the most beautiful girl in the school - but she struck me as overwhelmingly vapid. I had an idea.

"Why not ask her if she wrote it?"

He stared at me like I had grown wings. "What, just go up and talk to her? No. No, that's impossible."

I huffed and snatched the letter from him. "Fine. I will." Galinda was lingering with her prissy friends across the hall. Boq cried out in vain as I marched over to them.

When they noticed me they looked at me as if they were trying to magic me out of existence, before they all exchanged various grimaces and such. I focused on Galinda. "I need a word with you, if you wouldn't mind." She ignored me. "Are you really this childish? At least have the grace to acknowledge me."

She turned her head. "Leave us be, please."

"I will leave you be the moment I have a word with you," I said shortly. She glanced around self consciously. People were starting to stare. "I'm not moving till you talk to me," I said lowly. "Do you really us want to be seen talking?"

She sighed. "I'll be a tick, girls." She nodded at the girl's bathroom. I followed her in. She checked the stalls, and when a girl - about fourteen - went for one of the sinks, she gave her a look and said, "Out." The girl fled quickly. Galinda Arduenna glanced at me very briefly then looked down at her dress, plucking at it pointlessly. "What do you want, freak?"

"Only decent in public?" I said warily. "I had a bit of hope you were at least polite, but you're truly all as bad as each other."

The look she gave me was genuinely a little scary. A simple look had never scared me before. I was almost impressed. "You're lucky I'm even talking to you, witch," She said coolly. "I am in a murderous mood. Tell me what you want."

"Honestly, you have already answered my question," I said stiffly. "Me and my friend received a letter, apparently from you. I wanted confirmation." I held out the letter. Her expression shifted, carefully indifferent as she unfolded the letter and read it. She refolded it.

"It is from me, yes," She said quietly. "Honest, I don't give a fig about you, but I do feel bad about what happened then. I only invited you because I figured… _he_ would want me to." I was stunned. "But you can come, if you really want to, I suppose. It would be exceptionally rude to offer an empty invitation."

I stared at her critically. "You really wrote this? Truly?"

"Truly," She said casually.

"I don't believe you," I muttered. She looked at me.

"I don't care if you believe me," She said slowly. She had this way of talking that was very mean. People rarely really got to me, but she got to me. I could feel my hands trembling.

"I'll tell Boq," I said, and left quickly. I heard her come out a minute later. Boq was staring at me anxiously.

"Well? What happened?"

"She claims it was from her," I said. He looked like Lurinemas had come early. "I don't trust it," I went on quietly, but he wasn't listening.

"Oh, Elphaba, I might have a chance with her! Or at least at being her friend. Can you believe it!? We must go. This is going to be brilliant! We must go! Say you will, Elphaba, please?"

I really didn't trust it. If it was from her, it was still some cruel trick. I couldn't let him go alone.

"Yes," I said reluctantly. "I'll go."

I spent Saturday worrying about the party. I looked around the house for something that might help, and found nothing, except an old, mysterious knife in the kitchen. It wasn't any kind of normal kitchen knife. It was long and gently rounded, but definitely sharp. It had a simple wooden handle. It was tucked into a little leather pouch. I decided to take it with me, concealed somewhere in my dress or something. I didn't know what I expected, but that knife might give me a little confidence, if nothing else.

I met Boq at the path leading to the Mudgrove Farm late in the evening, already dark. He was very excited, and had two bikes with him, along with a simple torch. He looked even cleaner than he had on our day out. "Looking very nice, my friend," I said. He gave me the eye.

"Don't sound so tickled. I think I look pretty good."

"Oh yeah?" I took a bike off his hands. "Come on then. Let's woo your lady love." We rode up the path, him in front with the torch shining the way. It was very, very dark. We heard the party before we saw it, and then we saw a little road off the main one. There were was a rough path of lit posts lining it. We followed cautiously.

We saw the smoke and the drifting ash of the bonfire, and then the light and the fire of the bonfire itself in the middle of a clearing. There were a herd of teenagers all gathered around it, laughing and yelling and drinking, poking it with sticks. They were all the rich kids; the year twelves, a mixed unit of pseudo-adults; Avaric and his pack of hedonists; Shenshen and Galinda and their little clique; Crope and Tibbett, and the other handsome boys. We got off our bikes and walked up, the whole lot turning to look at us. A hush fell over the entire place.

"What the goddamn are you doing here?" Avaric asked, the fire casting long, dark shadows over his face. There was a little sqeal of excitement and Shenshen came rushing over to him, Pfannee following.

"We tricked them here," Shenshen said, pressing herself into his side. "For a bit of a lark, you know?"

"It was my idea," Pfannee said. Shenshen gave her a hard glare. I felt the first tug of anxiousness. I didn't feel good about any of this.

"Thank you ladies," He said, staring at us. "Well, what shall we do? It would be rude to send you off so fast." He glanced back at the year twelves. They watched, all seated on a semicircle of logs, silent and judgemental. Avaric's older brother was among them, a broad young man. He looked back at Avaric. Avaric looked at us, and gestured to the bonfire. "Come, sit. You must be cold."

"How about we just leave," I said, grabbing Boq's arm. Boq looked pretty ready to leave too. Two of Avaric's boy's moved to stop us.

"Oh, I insist," Avaric said. "You're our guests of honour. Please."

Boq came forward, because he didn't know what else to do. I stood stock still. One of the boys pushed me forward, and I went along, scowling back at him. I looked at Galinda and saw she was staring, eyes very wide. She looked worried. I couldn't imagine what would happen if _she_ looked worried. Boq had his head down, face very red. We sat where Avaric had gestured. "What did that letter have in it?" Avaric asked, still staring at us. Shenshen relayed it to him excitedly. Boq curled in on himself. I glared up at Avaric.

Avaric came nearer to Boq and squatted. "Galinda, was it? You thought she wanted to be your friend." He looked over to Galinda. Galinda looked back impassively. "I don't think that's very likely." Avaric leant over, so Boq was looking at him. "Girls like Galinda don't associate with girls like you, Biqqi." He suddenly smiled, looking around the camp. "You know, I heard Biqqi was going around as Boq! That made me wonder." He stood and paced around the bonfire. "See, Biqqi, I thought you were a girl! But now I'm not so sure. So I thought we should make sure, if you don't mind."

He stared at Boq expectantly. Boq looked back, confused and afraid. "What?"

Avaric huffed. "Stand up and drop your pants."

"Open your shirt!" Another boy called. There was a ripple of laughter, some crude exchange between Avaric's boys. Boq was shaking with terror.

"Either you get up and do it, or we'll do it for you," Avaric said with a hard edge. The laughter died. The girls looked uncomfortable, the handsome boys watching with their hands gripped up into fists. Shenshen moved back to sit with the girls, Pfannee following. It was very tense. I felt cool sweat trickling down my neck and back.

Galinda broke the silence. "If I didn't know better, I would think you were interested in that shemale, Avaric. Like your girls with a little boy in them, do you?" She gave him a harsh, flirty kind of smile, and all his amusement and bravado was shaken. He stood up.

"What's that meant to mean?"

She gave him a challenging look. He glanced around and flushed defensively. He looked at Boq. "You're right. I don't reckon any of us want to see this fucking freak." He worked his jaw. "Get out of here, freak." Boq scrambled to his feet and made off, getting a bike as he went. I started to stand up, but a hand around my arm stopped me. "Not you."

Boq looked back at me, his expression warring between ashamed and afraid. I knew he couldn't do anything anyway, so I just nodded to him. He went off in a hurry. Avaric let go of my arm quickly. "What do you want with me?" I asked, my voice steadier than I felt. Avaric stared at me, then looked up at Galinda.

"Now this one we really don't want to see," Avaric muttered. "You're the fucking freak overlord." The laughter rippled again. "I mean, what the fuck are you? Are you an animal of some kind? I can't even tell."

The jeering calmed me somewhat, because I knew how to handle that. I stayed indifferent. This wound him up. He was a very fragile boy, I realised as he stalked around me, throwing out insults, the others sniggering along. I got bored. "If you're done," I interrupted, "Can I go now? I've heard all this a thousand times."

He laughed shakily. He smoothed back his hair and paced around. He went over to a log where a packet of sausages and marshmallows were and picked up a long iron two-prong fork. He came to stand by the fire beside me, and skewered a sausage, holding it over the flame. The fat cracked and sizzled, dripping from it. "No, I'm not done." He looked up. "Hold her."

Two boys came forward and grabbed me, wrestling my hands behind my back. I kicked and lurched against them, and one of them pressed his knee into my back, the other putting all his weight forward, pinning me to the grass. He took off the sausage and did away with it. He put the fork back in the fire until it was stained dark black, all the fat from the sausage burnt away.

"I want to experiment a bit," He said. He pulled out the fork, spat on it, watching it spatter and dissolve instantly. I couldn't keep up the indifference, I was looking all around the place, seeing the others watching, their eyes wide. Galinda was looking at her lap. She wouldn't help. Nobody would. Avaric grabbed my jaw, his fingers digging into my skin. He brought the fork close to my cheek, close enough that I could feel the heat pouring off of it. The second he pressed it to my skin it exploded with pain, and I cried out. The hands holding me slackened. I saw my chance.

I kicked off from the ground with a burst of strength, throwing the boys back, Avaric stumbling away instinctively. Time lagged. I thought of the bike but before I had even thought of it I realised I would never reach it in time, and went off sprinting where ever I was faced; I was faced right at the girls. The girls fanned out while Avaric's dogs moved in, stumbling and grabbing at my heels. I ran past the last of them, pushed myself between the thickets around the clearing. I cleared a short fence and found myself in a corn field.

I stopped after a few minutes when I heard nothing, and peered back. It was dark. I let myself get my breath back, and turned to walk to my right, where the road in had been, I hoped. I couldn't see a thing for the corn in my face, towering over me. I glanced a little light from the corner of my eye.

I saw, from the direction the camp had been, spots of fire light bobbing over the tops of the corn. Then I heard the laughter and the yelling, and the distant crunching and shifting of leaves. Fuck the road, they would catch me too easily if they had fanned out. I went the way I had been going. When I realised how loud they were getting, I ran as fast as I could. I hitched up my skirt and everything. It kept getting caught in the corn, and the corn kept whipping me on the face, whipping the burn on my cheek. I could hardly feel it though. All I could feel was the solid thumping of my feet on the ground and the strain of my legs.

I flew out of the corn. I leapt over another fence, but my boot clipped it and I went shambling, almost right off my feet. Beyond was a stretch of grass and beyond that was a forest. Forests were good for hiding, but they also made running harder. Hiding was seeming pretty attractive, though. I didn't know how long I could run. I didn't know if I could outrun that whole pack of evil boys. I was eager on the forest.

In a moment of foolishness, right on the forest edge, I glanced over my shoulder. I saw the posts that had lined the outside of the camp poking from the tops of the cornfield and emerge, their bearers moving forward in a dark, menacing front. It was more than Avaric's boys, it was the year twelves, and the handsome boys too. They advanced, bristling with fire and fists and sticks and forks, yelling and cackling. I wove my way through the trees, sweat dripping from me.

I fell behind a thick tree, listening. I could hear the distant jeers. I shifted so I was ready to go off. The boys fell quiet, occasionally calling to eachother. I heard a cry too close for comfort that sent me on my way. I stopped again beneath the thick foliage of some low tree-bush, and then again at another tree. They continued to advance. I considered doubling back and trying to break the line, but I knew that was a bad plan. I continued through the forest.

I staggered over a rock and fell into a small clearing where the moonlight managed through the leaves. My left hand went right into some pathetic creek, and I thrashed away wildly, falling down a short hill and into a tree, gripping my hand to my chest. I heard the splash of feet in the creek, and a call of, "The witch is close!" I saw him standing above me on the cusp of the short hill, the moonlight dragging dark green shadows down his face. He saw me. He stooped down for a rock as I was blundering to my feet - it hit me in the back, but I was already off running. He called again, "The witch!" They called back.

I ran harder than ever and put some distance between us, then stopped, then ran, then stopped. I jumped over a short ledge and, with no thought to it, glanced behind me and saw a log. The log was beneath a thick cover of moss and lodged between a rock and a tree. It was almost entirely hollowed out. I dropped to my belly and wiggled into the space there. The stopping made me aware of my ragged breath, and I pressed my hands to my mouth, staring out of the gap of the log. I heard the calls coming closer. The log creaked, and feet thudded down in front of me. Their shoes were fine leather, polished to a shine, and their pants were baby blue and folded very neatly at the bottom. He walked on. He stopped, and called, "No witch!" He glanced around, and then he looked at me. He squinted. He came forward.

I saw his gentle wave of hair, honey-brown, and recognised him as Tibbett, the most handsome boy in school, or so it was said. He came very close, and I am sure he saw me. I hissed and launched myself out of the cover of the log, slamming my fist into his stomach. He fell back onto the mossy ground, gripping himself and wheezing. He would not call for a while, at least. I stopped behind another tree further on, and listened. They were pretty distant now. I couldn't see any of the torches. I kept running, though.

I ran until I saw a ditch filled with long grass and heavy with bush cover. I toed into it, making sure the bottom was dry. It was. I walked along it, keeping low. A branch snapped right above me. I looked up, my hand jumping to the knife I just recalled I had brought for this exact situation. It was a girl in a pretty pink dress, a torch in her hand. She put it out immediately, before I could recognise her. I saw her silhouette duck. "I know these forests," She said quietly. "They are close to my house. I can get you out of here without them finding us."

"You really think I'm going to trust that?" I said raggedly. I slid out the knife. "Come any closer, and I'll - I'll do what I need to." The knife glinted between the rust. She saw it and shifted. "If you want to help, just don't call out."

"These forests go on for ages," She said gravely, and I placed her voice now. It was Galinda Arduenna. "Please, my home is not so far-"

"I would not trust you as far as I could bloody throw you! You got us into this mess!" I lowered my voice to a harsh whisper. "Why did you tell us you wrote that letter!?" I heard a sharp intake of breath.

"I'm… I figured it was a joke, and so I went along with it, to not ruin the fun." Her voice trembled. "I know it was stupid and - and cruel, and I'm so sorry. I never would have thought Avaric would go so far." She sniffled, her silhouette moving indistinctly. "He has always been a beastly boy," She muttered.

I laughed. She wiped at her face. "You're crying. Okay. You can't really expect me to go with you."

"You must!" She whispered fiercely. "You must get out of here unharmed! I'm not gonna let you wander around and be found and - and burnt, or whatever they plan, and have that on my head!" She stuck out her arm. "Come on!"

I heard the calls again, from the opposite side of the ditch. She glanced behind her and shook her hand desperately. "Now! You must take my hand now! Please!" They were so close. I made some strangled noise and grabbed her hand, clawing up to the top of the ditch. She pulled me into sprinting.

She soon pulled us onto a trail that she said was a deer run. Her hand squeezed mine tight and trembled very faintly. She warned me of a drop and we jumped down a short manmade ledge, and then emerged from the forest, a dirt road before us. She dropped my hand. "My house is up here," She said quietly. I stood stock still, staring at her. The adrenaline was gone. I could feel the burn, feel my lungs and legs straining as if the muscles were about to snap.

"I… am going to go home," I muttered. She made a face.

"No. No, that's a stupid idea. What if one of them find you? And you don't even know this part of North Dixxie." She turned her head. "Stay at my place. Just for the night. You can go home early tomorrow morning."

I had wrapped my arms around myself, and was trembling hard. Harder than the warm night called for. I wanted to complain, or ask what the hell she was even doing, but I could hardly think. She took my hand again and led me down the road to her house.


End file.
